Ocado lifts full-year profit forecast following home delivery boom during pandemic December 10, 2020 Ocado has raised its full-year profit forecast after the online supermarket saw grocery sales boom during England’s second national lockdown. Revenue at Ocado Retail, the company’s joint venture with Marks & Spencer, surged 35 per cent in the three months to 29 November to almost £580m. The group said full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall Street chase record highs as vaccine hopes boost markets December 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 logged its best session in three weeks today while Wall Street hit record highs as markets continue to ride a wave of vaccine optimism. The blue-chip bourse closed up 1.9 per cent, while the FTSE 250 midcap index rose by 2.6 per cent. It comes after the FTSE recording its biggest gain [...]
High-profile tech founders back $111m London startup fund November 30, 2020 A string of big-name tech founders including former Google boss Eric Schmidt are backing a new fund to invest in startups in the US and across Europe. London-based Firstminute Capital today unveiled a $111m (£83m) venture capital fund after securing support from some of the world’s top tech executives. More than 70 founders of billion-dollar [...]
Marks and Spencer to close on Boxing Day to give staff the day off November 26, 2020 Marks and Spencer has cancelled plans to open all of its stores on Boxing Day, choosing instead to allow staff to spend the day with friends and family. M&S had previously planned to open 200 stores on Boxing Day to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales, but in light of the recent relaxation on [...]
Mitie profit slips a third ahead of Interserve merger November 19, 2020 Outsourcer Mitie said that profit had fallen over a third in the first half of the year due to a loss of revenue from high margin contracts impacted by coronavirus. Profit at the London-listed firm slipped 35 per cent from £33m to £21.5m, with revenue also declining 9.8 per cent to £972m. As a result, [...]
Marks & Spencer launches ‘innovation hub’ to expand plant-based food range November 18, 2020 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced the launch of a “innovation hub” to develop sustainable food products. The retailer announced today that the nine-strong innovation team, which will launch in January, will seek to capitalise on emerging trends, such as veganism and environmental causes, to become “more relevant” to its customers. Research will include soya-alternative [...]
Tesco, M&S and Sainsbury’s face allegations of worker exploitation in India November 17, 2020 UK retailers including Marks & Spencer (M&S), Tesco and Sainsbury’s are facing calls to apologise following allegations of worker exploitation in their supply chains. Supermarket supplier workers in India reportedly said they do not get toilet breaks or sufficient breaks to drink water or eat lunch. One member of staff told the BBC they were [...]
Greggs to cut 820 jobs as Covid-19 impact bites November 13, 2020 Greggs will cut 820 shop staff jobs as it expects trading to remain below normal for the foreseeable future due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a company spokeswoman confirmed this evening. In September Greggs launched a consultation with union and employee representatives and was aiming to minimise job losses by negotiating reduced staff hours. The company [...]
Brands’ battle for the eyeballs: watch all the Christmas ads here November 13, 2020 As some of the UK’s biggest brands have rolled out their seasonal ads, it’s starting to feel a lot more festive. The battle for the eyeballs started in earnest this morning as John Lewis launched its annual television advertisement, gaining over one million views within just two hours. However, Aldi’s ad so far tops the [...]
US Election: Biden’s (almost certain) win: How it happened November 6, 2020 Live updates on the US Presidential Election 2020 as Donald Trump and Joe Biden go head to head. Rolling coverage as Americans vote.